According to a December 1913 article in the NY Times, the Bijou Theatre was built in 1876 and opened as the Brighton Theatre. Originally built as a playhouse, the Bijou Theatre was later used for motion pictures. The Bijou Theatre was sold in January of 1915 to a construction company and the building was demolished shortly afterwards.

The April 2, 1913, issue of The American Architect said that Philadelphia architects Stuckert & Sloan had filed plans for alterations to a five-story moving picture theater on Broadway at 31st Street in New York City. The project was budgeted at $15,000 and the client was the Joseph Weschler estate.